Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Well it's sounds like it's bigger brother might be moving in but I spent a lot of time with those M8's with warts and all. I did happen to love shooting it. So what's your love story.
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Tribute to the M8
- Thread starter Guy Mancuso
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Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Best part is good friendships where made
M
Mango
Guest
Guy, in addition to what you so eloquently said, the M8 also brought back the joy of taking pictures. I hope to have them around for a long while. Thanks again to you and Jack for being such gracious hosts.
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
I'd go with Mango's comment - I also found that my M8 brought back the sheer joy of taking pictures using a camera and lenses (despite our protestations) that didn't get in the way. It has been, and continues to be a joy.
It's also been nice to use a tool that felt more like it came from the hands of an artisan as opposed off a plastic production line in China. An overly romantic view I'm sure but I guess you folks would know what I mean.
It's also been nice to use a tool that felt more like it came from the hands of an artisan as opposed off a plastic production line in China. An overly romantic view I'm sure but I guess you folks would know what I mean.
My story is that I have owned one from the early beginning just after the first modification had been done.
It has never let me down! It is still my favorite camera delieverunbg great image quality.
Even though you read everywhere that it is a flawed camera- I never felt this way. I even got used to the crop.
It has been my only camera where I never spent a though to sell it or give it up (until the M9 comes).
Even though I knew the M9 will be announced soon I rather kept it because I didnt want to be without it for several weeks.
High Image quality in a small and light package with a great feel/user interface. Thats how I see it.
It has never let me down! It is still my favorite camera delieverunbg great image quality.
Even though you read everywhere that it is a flawed camera- I never felt this way. I even got used to the crop.
It has been my only camera where I never spent a though to sell it or give it up (until the M9 comes).
Even though I knew the M9 will be announced soon I rather kept it because I didnt want to be without it for several weeks.
High Image quality in a small and light package with a great feel/user interface. Thats how I see it.
Hi,
I bought my M8 in May this year and I remain happy with the purchase. It is a lovely camera!!! It is a small camera with which I feel content to shoot with. Let me explain:
1) Image quality is there.
2) It handles like a camera.
3) Not nonsense auto latest magic in way of shooting.
It replaced my Dp1, G9 and all p&s with a camera with which I can also take serious photos! All it actually requires is one lens; 28mm, but... getting IR block filter for the CV 15mm is a search...
This site was one of key places with much great info, Reedreviews the other. Much thanks to all posters.
I should add that I feel the complaints of the M8 were exeaggerated and seems from those who did not understand or comprehend it (apart from some early issues). As example; I fully appreciate that I need to use IR block filters, because by taking them off and replacing with an IR filter I have a competent IR camera! Awesome! :ROTFL:
I do not visualize myself getting the M9. What is point? I have the Aptus 65 for larger MPs, unless... the M9 would turn out to be 24-28MP and with a larger viewfinder... for then it could replace it at saving weight in my bag...
The M8 remain great to me and a truly lovely camera to shoot with! :salute:
Regards
Anders
I bought my M8 in May this year and I remain happy with the purchase. It is a lovely camera!!! It is a small camera with which I feel content to shoot with. Let me explain:
1) Image quality is there.
2) It handles like a camera.
3) Not nonsense auto latest magic in way of shooting.
It replaced my Dp1, G9 and all p&s with a camera with which I can also take serious photos! All it actually requires is one lens; 28mm, but... getting IR block filter for the CV 15mm is a search...
This site was one of key places with much great info, Reedreviews the other. Much thanks to all posters.
I should add that I feel the complaints of the M8 were exeaggerated and seems from those who did not understand or comprehend it (apart from some early issues). As example; I fully appreciate that I need to use IR block filters, because by taking them off and replacing with an IR filter I have a competent IR camera! Awesome! :ROTFL:
I do not visualize myself getting the M9. What is point? I have the Aptus 65 for larger MPs, unless... the M9 would turn out to be 24-28MP and with a larger viewfinder... for then it could replace it at saving weight in my bag...
The M8 remain great to me and a truly lovely camera to shoot with! :salute:
Regards
Anders
Mine was a Love/Hate relationship ... lots of passionate carrying on, with some shouting matches along the way.
I was a very early adopter of the M8, and among the first batch of "whistle blowers" concerning the IR issue. Who can forget the frantic worldwide search for scarce IR filters, well before Leica admitted the problem and offered the 2 free filters?
But even that early camera never failed on me ... although it, and most of my M lenses, needed to take long vacations in Germany to be upgraded and calibrated. It was a rocky relationship with Leica back then ... not the best of times.
On the other hand there were the images. How could this crop frame sensor, 10 meg, 8 bit machine produce images that still rival the latest/greatest? That was, and still is, the siren's song that kept me in the Leica family where I would have divorced myself from anything else that I had to fight with so much.
Things settled down quite some time ago, and I use a M8 at most every wedding I shoot. If the M9 is a step forward, it will be added ... and perhaps take the lead over the DSLR gear ... some of which will be sold rather than selling all my M8 gear which I need for back-up and for the 1/8000th shutter I frequently use with the Luxes.
-Marc
I was a very early adopter of the M8, and among the first batch of "whistle blowers" concerning the IR issue. Who can forget the frantic worldwide search for scarce IR filters, well before Leica admitted the problem and offered the 2 free filters?
But even that early camera never failed on me ... although it, and most of my M lenses, needed to take long vacations in Germany to be upgraded and calibrated. It was a rocky relationship with Leica back then ... not the best of times.
On the other hand there were the images. How could this crop frame sensor, 10 meg, 8 bit machine produce images that still rival the latest/greatest? That was, and still is, the siren's song that kept me in the Leica family where I would have divorced myself from anything else that I had to fight with so much.
Things settled down quite some time ago, and I use a M8 at most every wedding I shoot. If the M9 is a step forward, it will be added ... and perhaps take the lead over the DSLR gear ... some of which will be sold rather than selling all my M8 gear which I need for back-up and for the 1/8000th shutter I frequently use with the Luxes.
-Marc
ptomsu
Workshop Member
Thinking back the last 2.5 years, since I own my M8 - I must say it started with lot of frustration and hate, as the camera and all my lenses had to go back and forth to Solms several times, before the whole system worked somehow ok.
Now I am almost no longer using it, as I hate the IR filters and I hate the crop. And this is the reason why I really wait for the M9. My hope is that it will work better (or even perfect) from the first day and will not again replicate the experiences I had with the M8.
So my M8 is now for sale, as I said I want to get rid of IR filters and crop asap! Any takers? Will make a reasonable price
Now I am almost no longer using it, as I hate the IR filters and I hate the crop. And this is the reason why I really wait for the M9. My hope is that it will work better (or even perfect) from the first day and will not again replicate the experiences I had with the M8.
So my M8 is now for sale, as I said I want to get rid of IR filters and crop asap! Any takers? Will make a reasonable price
TRSmith
Subscriber Member
I believe (or have managed to convince myself) that the camera's quirkiness and its slightly "old-fashioned" rangefinder approach have made me a better photographer. It reminded me that I have to look and be aware of the light, to be careful about composition and focus, and inspired me to be more thoughtful and deliberate. I appreciate that and the entry fee demanded by the M8 for that kind of instruction was well worth it.
Whatever variances that the other, more contemporary/advanced dslrs might claim as "better" are, to my mind, more than offset by the quality of the images my M8 produces. And the good news is, I still have a lot left to learn from the little camera before I'll need to start taking lessons from the next one.
Whatever variances that the other, more contemporary/advanced dslrs might claim as "better" are, to my mind, more than offset by the quality of the images my M8 produces. And the good news is, I still have a lot left to learn from the little camera before I'll need to start taking lessons from the next one.
johnastovall
Deceased, but remembered fondly here...
I hated it when it came out and waited a year to get one and came to love the richness of the images and once more having that Leica feel in a digital camera.
It has documented for me some of my life's darkest and most tender times.
It has documented for me some of my life's darkest and most tender times.
Never tried one. It was always out of reach price wise. Didn't even ask to see one in the store. Better to leave it in the case to avoid temptation
I sold my M6 and lenses to pay for some digital Canon equipment. While there is nothing wrong with Canon, it's not an RF system. Now that the used M8 prices are moving lower, maybe I can pick one up and start a new relationship with a rangefinder. With the past problems behind it, it's looking more and more as a solid "affordable" option for a digital "back-to -the-basics" camera.
-Thomas
I sold my M6 and lenses to pay for some digital Canon equipment. While there is nothing wrong with Canon, it's not an RF system. Now that the used M8 prices are moving lower, maybe I can pick one up and start a new relationship with a rangefinder. With the past problems behind it, it's looking more and more as a solid "affordable" option for a digital "back-to -the-basics" camera.
-Thomas
fotoism
Member
Now that M9 is here, my feelings towards my M8 is even stronger.
I started out in photography in grade school, with a $5.00 camera that used tiny roll film taking blurred pictures. From that I went on to Rolleiflex TLR and SLR (135 and 120), Exakta, Konica, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, and eventually moved onto an M4. That fateful move happened 37 years ago. I took numerous pictures and spent numerous hours in the darkroom. That was my life. I was married to my M4.
Then my then future wife came along. Family ensued and I started spending more time with my new loves. M4 was side-stepped and P&S took place. I descended to such low levels in my photographic life during those years, but I got only so many hours a day and only so much energy. Leica is not exactly a good mix when there are diapers and bottles around all the time. What used to be the most important part of my existance slowly faded away.
Life is full of surprises. M8 was born. It entered my life at a time when family life is less demanding - kids are in university and my wife and I had more time to ourselves. It rekindled my love for photography, my old flame. The equipment I carefully stored are now back in service, even more so than before. The M8 provided me with a brand new experience I never realize was possible with the M4. Very different way of doing things. I feel like a school boy going to school and learning new stuff everyday, thanks for the internet, and on-line community like this.
Had it not for the M8, I could still be fondling the M4 from time to time, and maybe shoot a roll or two of film here and there, few and far in between.
M9 is definitely a wonder of the time, but I owe myself to my M8. It meant more than technology to me. It gave me a second chance.
Hope I didn't bore everyone to death.
I started out in photography in grade school, with a $5.00 camera that used tiny roll film taking blurred pictures. From that I went on to Rolleiflex TLR and SLR (135 and 120), Exakta, Konica, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, and eventually moved onto an M4. That fateful move happened 37 years ago. I took numerous pictures and spent numerous hours in the darkroom. That was my life. I was married to my M4.
Then my then future wife came along. Family ensued and I started spending more time with my new loves. M4 was side-stepped and P&S took place. I descended to such low levels in my photographic life during those years, but I got only so many hours a day and only so much energy. Leica is not exactly a good mix when there are diapers and bottles around all the time. What used to be the most important part of my existance slowly faded away.
Life is full of surprises. M8 was born. It entered my life at a time when family life is less demanding - kids are in university and my wife and I had more time to ourselves. It rekindled my love for photography, my old flame. The equipment I carefully stored are now back in service, even more so than before. The M8 provided me with a brand new experience I never realize was possible with the M4. Very different way of doing things. I feel like a school boy going to school and learning new stuff everyday, thanks for the internet, and on-line community like this.
Had it not for the M8, I could still be fondling the M4 from time to time, and maybe shoot a roll or two of film here and there, few and far in between.
M9 is definitely a wonder of the time, but I owe myself to my M8. It meant more than technology to me. It gave me a second chance.
Hope I didn't bore everyone to death.
I was trolling for a good used M8 when I came across Mike Hatam's for sale on RFF I think. It worked flawlessly since day 1, and like others have declared, it got me out from behind my Canon EOS system and I am loving it more every day. I take it everywhere and rarely do I not shoot something with it EVERY DAY
An M9 will be in the works later but for now I am having to save up as my 17 year-old-twins finish their senior year in high school and I am getting ready to pay for college on a cash basis.
I probably will never get rid of this camera but look to add a M9 when finances allow.
An M9 will be in the works later but for now I am having to save up as my 17 year-old-twins finish their senior year in high school and I am getting ready to pay for college on a cash basis.
I probably will never get rid of this camera but look to add a M9 when finances allow.
jlancasterd
Active member
The M8 got me back into rangefinder shooting several years after I'd 'gone digital', sold my M6, and ceased using my M3 in favour of, first, a Digilux-2 and later a DMR on my R8. It reminded me of the advantages of the small size and light weight of M cameras, and became my camera of choice for casual walk-around work and holiday air travel, as well as for wide angle work for the magazine using the CV 15mm.
I'm sure the M9 due next week will be a worthy successor...
I'm sure the M9 due next week will be a worthy successor...